frog and toad are friends

He got into the bed and pulled the covers over hishead again.“But, Toad,” cried Frog, “you will miss all thefun!” “Listen, Frog,” said Toad.. “All right,” said Toad.“Let me think of a st

Frog and Toad Are Friends

by Arnold Lobel

For Barbara Borack

Frog ran up the path to Toad’s house

He knocked on the front door

There was no answer

“Toad, Toad,” shouted Frog, “wake up

It is spring!” “Blah,” said a voice from inside thehouse

“Toad, Toad,” cried Frog

“The sun is shining!

The snow is melting

Wake up!” “I am not here,” said the voice

5

Frog walked into the house.

He had pulled all the covers over his head.

Frog pushed Toad out of bed

He pushed him out of the house and onto the frontporch

Toad blinked in the bright sun “Help!” said Toad

“I cannot see anything.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Frog

“What you see is the clear warm light of April.And it means that we can begin a whole new yeartogether, Toad

Think of it,” said Frog

“We will skip through the meadows and runthrough the woods and swim in the river

In the evenings we will sit right here on this frontporch and count the stars.”

7

“You can count them, Frog,” said Toad “I will betoo tired.

I am going back to bed.”

Toad went back into the house

He got into the bed and pulled the covers over hishead again.

“But, Toad,” cried Frog, “you will miss all thefun!” “Listen, Frog,” said Toad

“How long have I been asleep?”

“You have been asleep since November,” saidFrog

“Well then,” said Toad, “a little more sleep willnot hurt me

Come back again and wake me up at about halfpast May

Good night, Frog.”

9

“But, Toad,” said Frog, “I will be lonely untilthen.”

Toad did not answer.

He had fallen asleep

Frog looked at Toad’s calendar

The November page was still on top

Frog tore off the November page

He tore off the December page

And the January page, the February page, and theMarch page

He came to the April page

Frog tore off the April page too

Then Frog ran back to Toad’s bed

“Toad, Toad, wake up It is May now.”

“What?” said Toad

“Can it be May so soon?”

11

“Yes,” said Frog.

“Look at your calendar.”

Toad looked at the calendar

The May page was on top

“Why, it is May!” said Toad as he climbed out of

bed

Then he and Frog ran outside to see how the worldwas looking in the spring

The Story

One day in summer Frog was not feeling well.Toad said, “Frog, you are looking quite green.”

“But I always look green,” said Frog “I am a frog.”

“Today you look very green even for a frog,” saidToad

“Get into my bed and rest.”

Toad made Frog a cup of hot tea.

Frog drank the tea, and then he said, “Tell me astory while I am resting.”

15

“All right,” said Toad.

“Let me think of a story to tell you.”

Toad thought and thought

But he could not think of a story to tell Frog

“I will go out on the front porch and walk up anddown,” said Toad

“Perhaps that will help me to think of a story.”Toad walked up and down on the porch for a longtime

But he could not think of a story to tell Frog

Then Toad went into the house and stood on hishead.

“Why are you standing on your head?” askedFrog

“I hope that if I stand on my head, it will help me

to think of a story,” said Toad

Toad stood on his head for a long time.

But he could not think of a story to tell Frog.Then Toad poured a glass of water over his head

“Why are you pouring water over your head?”asked Frog

“I hope that if I pour water over my head, it willhelp me to think of a story,” said Toad

Toad poured many glasses of water over his head.But he could not think of a story to tell Frog

19

Then Toad began to bang his head against thewall.

“Why are you banging your head against thewall?” asked Frog

“I hope that if I bang my head against the wallhard enough, it will help me to think of a story,”said Toad

“I am feeling much better now, Toad,” said Frog

“I do not think I need a story anymore.”

“Then you get out of bed and let me get into it,”said Toad, “because now I feel terrible.”

21

Frog said, “Would you like me to tell you a story,Toad?”

“Yes,” said Toad, “if you know one.”

“Once upon a time,” said Frog, “there were twogood friends, a frog and a toad

The frog was not feeling well

He asked his friend the toad to tell him a story.The toad could not think of a story

He walked up and down on the porch, but hecould not think of a story

He stood on his head, but he could not think of astory

He poured water over his head, but he could notthink of a story

He banged his head against the wall, but he couldnot think of a story

Then the toad did not feel so well, and the frogwas feeling better.

So the toad went to bed and the frog got up andtold him a story

The end

How was that, Toad?” said Frog

But Toad did not answer

He had fallen asleep

23

A Lost Button

Toad and Frog went for a long walk

They walked across a large meadow

They walked in the woods

They walked along the river

At last they went back home to Toad’s house

“Oh, drat,” said Toad

“Not only do my feet hurt, but I have lost one ofthe buttons on my jacket.”

“Don’t worry,” said Frog

“We will go back to all the places where wewalked

25

We will soon find your button.”

They walked back to the large meadow

They began to look for the button in the tall grass

“Here is your button!” cried Frog

“That is not my button,” said Toad

“That button is black

My button was white.”

Toad put the black button in his pocket

A sparrow flew down.

“Excuse me,” said the sparrow

“Did you lose a button? I found one.”

“That is not my button,” said Toad

“That button has two holes My button had fourholes.”

Toad put the button with two holes in his pocket.They went back to the woods and looked on thedark paths

“Here is your button,” said Frog

“That is not my button,” cried Toad

“That button is small

My button was big.”

Toad put the small button in his pocket

A raccoon came out from behind a tree.

“I heard that you were looking for a button,” hesaid

“Here is one that I just found.”

“That is not my button!” wailed Toad

“That button is square

My button was round.”

Toad put the square button in his pocket

29

Frog and Toad went back to the river.

They looked for the button in the mud

“Here is your button,” said Frog

“That is not my button!” shouted Toad

“That button is thin

My button was thick.”

Toad put the thin button in his pocket He wasvery angry

He jumped up and down and screamed, “Thewhole world is covered with buttons, and not one

of them is mine!”

Toad ran home and slammed the door.

There, on the floor, he saw his white, four-holed,big, round, thick button

“Oh,” said Toad

“It was here all the time

What a lot of trouble I have made for Frog.”

31

Toad took all of the buttons out of his pocket.

He took his sewing box down from the shelf.Toad sewed the buttons all over his jacket

The next day Toad gave his jacket to Frog.

33

Frog thought that it was beautiful.

He put it on and jumped for joy.None of the buttons fell off

Toad had sewed them on very well

A Swim

Toad and Frog went down to the river

“What a day for a swim,” said Frog

“Yes,” said Toad

“I will go behind these rocks and put on mybathing suit.”

“I don’t wear a bathing suit,” said Frog

“Well, I do,” said Toad

35

“After I put on my bathing suit, you must not look

at me until I get into the water.”

“Why not?” asked Frog.

“Because I look funny in my bathing suit

That is why,” said Toad

Frog closed his eyes when Toad came out frombehind the rocks

Toad was wearing his bathing suit

“Don’t peek,” he said

Frog and Toad jumped into the water

They swam all afternoon

Frog swam fast and made big splashes

Toad swam slowly and made smaller splashes

37

A turtle came along the riverbank.

“Frog, tell that turtle to go away,” said Toad

“I do not want him to see me in my bathing suitwhen I come out of the river.”

Frog swam over to the turtle

“Turtle,” said Frog, “you will have to go away.”

“Why should I?” asked the turtle

“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in hisbathing suit, and he does not want you to seehim,” said Frog

39

Some lizards were sitting nearby.

“Does Toad really look funny in his bathing suit?”they asked

A snake crawled out of the grass

“If Toad looks funny in his bathing suit,” said thesnake, “then I, for one, want to see him.”

“We want to see him too,” said two dragonflies

“Me too,” said a field mouse.

“I have not seen anything funny in a long time.”

41

Frog swam back to Toad.

“I am sorry, Toad,” he said “Everyone wants tosee how you will look.”

“Then I will stay right here until they go away,”said Toad

The turtle and the lizards and the snake and thedragonflies and the field mouse all sat on the ri-verbank

They waited for Toad to come out of the water

“Please,” cried Frog, “please go away!” But no onewent away

Toad was getting colder and colder.

He was beginning to shiver and sneeze

“I will have to come out of the water,” said Toad

“I am catching a cold.”

43

Toad climbed out of the river.

The water dripped out of his bathing suit anddown onto his feet

The turtle laughed.

The lizards laughed

The snake laughed

“What are you laughing at, Frog?” said Toad

“I am laughing at you, Toad,” said Frog, “because

you do look funny in your bathing suit.”

“Of course I do,” said Toad

Then he picked up his clothes and went home

45The field mouse laughed, and Frog laughed

The Letter

Toad was sitting on his front porch

Frog came along and said, “What is the matter,Toad?

You are looking sad.”

47

“Yes,” said Toad.

“This is my sad time of day

It is the time when I wait for the mail to come

It always makes me very unhappy.”

“Why is that?” asked Frog

“Because I never get any mail,” said Toad

“Not ever?” asked Frog.

“No, never,” said Toad

“No one has ever sent me a letter

Every day my mailbox is empty

That is why waiting for the mail is a sad time forme.”

Frog and Toad sat on the porch, feeling sad er

togeth-Then Frog said, “I have to go home now, Toad.There is something that I must do.” Frog hurriedhome

49

He found a pencil and a piece of paper.

He wrote on the paper

He put the paper in an envelope

Frog ran out of his house

He saw a snail that he knew

“Snail,” said Frog, “please take this letter to Toad’shouse and put it in his mailbox.”

“Sure,” said the snail “Right away.”

Then Frog ran back to Toad’s house.Toad was in bed, taking a nap.

51

“Toad,” said Frog, “I think you should get up andwait for the mail some more.”

“No,” said Toad, “I am tired of waiting for themail.”

Frog looked out of the window at Toad’s mailbox.The snail was not there yet

“Toad,” said Frog, “you never know whensomeone may send you a letter.”

“No, no,” said Toad “I do not think anyone willever send me a letter.”

Frog looked out of the window.

The snail was not there yet “But, Toad,” said Frog,

“someone may send you a letter today.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Toad “No one has ever sent

me a letter before, and no one will send me a lettertoday.”

Frog looked out of the window

The snail was still not there

“Frog, why do you keep looking out of the dow?” asked Toad

win-“Because now I am waiting for the mail,” saidFrog

“But there will not be any,” said Toad

53

“Oh, yes there will,” said Frog, “because I havesent you a letter.”

“You have?” said Toad

“What did you write in the letter?” Frog said, “Iwrote ‘Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my bestfriend

Your best friend, Frog.’”

“Oh,” said Toad, “that makes a very good letter.”Then Frog and Toad went out onto the front porch

to wait for the mail

They sat there, feeling happy together

55

Frog and Toad waited a long time.

Four days later the snail got to Toad’s house andgave him the letter from Frog

Toad was very pleased to have it

Dear Parent:

Your child’s love of reading starts here!

Every child learns to read in a different way and at his or her own speed Some

go back and forth between reading levels and read favorite books again and again Others read through each level in order You can help your young reader improve and become more confident by encouraging his or her own interests and abilities From books your child reads with you to the first books

he or she reads alone, there are I Can Read Books for every stage of reading:

SHARED READING

Basic language, word repetition, and whimsical illustrations, ideal for sharing with your emergent reader

BEGINNING READING

Short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts for children eager

to read on their own

READING WITH HELP

Engaging stories, longer sentences, and language play for developing readers

A lifetime of discovery begins with the magical words “I can read!”

Visit www.icanread.com for information

on enriching your child’s reading experience.

Cover art © 1970 by Arnold Lobel

by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader December 2008

ISBN 978-0-06-179413-1

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

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